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KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (AFP) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will not bow to any appeals from Jakarta in reversing the temporary ban on hiring Indonesian workers, a report said Saturday.

Mahathir said Malaysia did not need to take in any more Indonesians as the country already had a surplus of foreign workers.

"In fact, we have more than enough, what more with those entering the country illegally," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

"We do not need that many. What are they going to do (if they come) here?" the premier said.

Malaysia announced Wednesday it would temporarily halt the intake of Indonesian workers following recent riots and would consider hiring labourers from Cambodia and Vietnam.

Last Sunday, more than 70 Indonesian construction workers armed with machetes went on the rampage at Cyberjaya, south of Kuala Lumpur, just three days after some 400 Indonesian textile workers launched a protest at their factory over drug tests.

Indonesian ministers have apologised on behalf of the government for the riots and two officials have been dispatched to Malaysia to try to help resolve the problem.

Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz on Friday said the government needed to make neighborly approaches to Malaysia to appeal against the ban.

"We need to approach Malaysia because it is our neighbor and work opportunities are great there," he said.

Mahathir on Thursday defended the ban, saying the government had previously been more tolerant of crimes committed by Indonesian immigrants.

"A lot of the crimes they (Indonesian workers) have commited, we've so far kept silent," he said. "(But) when a riot is carried out by one group, followed by another and another, I think we can no longer stay silent."

The daily also reported that Indonesian illegal immigrants topped a list of foreign criminal offenders in the country.

According to a national survey on criminal statistics, Indonesian illegals in Malaysia committed 2,169 crimes last year, including 83 murders and 33 rape cases.

Criminal Investigation Department chief Salleh Mat Som said although there was a drop in offences from 2,219 cases in 2000, the crimes were more serious last year with more murders being committed.

Work for Indonesians abroad is an important source of foreign exchange for the country and also helps alleviate widespread unemployment at home.

Malaysia is home to some 750,000 foreign workers, mainly from Indonesia. 

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